MASSENA - The 2013 Massena Winter Carnival officially got underway Thursday night with an opening ceremony that included wine tasting, hors d’oeuvres and the unveiling of a special feature outside of the Greater Massena Chamber of Commerce office - an ice sculpture of the 2013 Winter Carnival logo.

Chamber President and Winter Carnival Co-Chair Susan E. Stiles said they wanted to give a special touch to this year’s Winter Carnival, as well as those in the years ahead.

“We thought about taking a spin-off from the Saranac Lake ice castle, but on a smaller scale. We wanted to do something different to bring people in,” she said.

The sculpture stands about 70 inches high, according to Ms. Stiles.

“We were told it’s between 5 and 7 feet tall. They call it four blocks wide,” she said.

A blue backlight gives an added dimension to the sculpture, which could last a week under the current weather conditions.

It was created by world class ice sculptor Stanley Kolonko, who owns and operates The Ice Farm in Auburn. In competitive ice sculpting, Mr. Kolonko and his team placed first at the Harbin International Ice Sculpture Competition in China in early January 2010.

“I called him up and asked him for an estimate, and I sent him an email of our logo. He said he would love to do it. He did it off from that,” Ms. Stiles said.

The sculpture, which is created in blocks, took one to two days to complete.

“He uses his own ice. It has to be pure ice so it’s clear,” Ms. Stiles said.

The sculpture was delivered in sections and the assemblers used water from the chamber office to seal up the areas where the sections were put together.

Now it’s on display on West Orvis Street, outside the chamber office, just in time for the Winter Carnival.

Tonight’s activities include a 7 p.m. parade through downtown and fireworks at Bushnell Field between 8 and 8:30 p.m.

Saturday’s events include a 5K Walk/run at the Massena Country Club, with registration beginning at 8:30 a.m.

Other activities will be held at the Hawkins Point Visitor’s Center on Saturday and Sunday.

Although the weather forced the cancellation of the dog sled races, Christina Gates from the Arctic Sled Dog Racing Association will be on hand with her dogs for presentations on Saturday, along with Spencer Thew, owner of the Call of the Wild Kennels, who will be on hand for demonstrations of dryland dog sled racing. Those presentations will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Winter Carnival Market is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., while horse-drawn wagon rides take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Cubby T. Clown will be there from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and the Massena Chamber will have a food booth.

Evening activities include a Winter Carnival Meet and Greet Dinner from 6 to 8 p.m. at The Village Inn, followed by karaoke at 9 p.m.

Sunday’s events at the Hawkins Point Visitor’s Center include children’s activities from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., horse-drawn wagon rides from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Cubby T. Clown from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the chamber food booth and closing ceremonies. There will also be a drawing for the Winter Carnival 50-50 raffle.

For information on the events, visit the Greater Massena Chamber of Commerce’s website at www.massenachamber.com where an updated list is maintained.

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